don's report archive

by Donald B. Ardell, Ph. D.

Wellness in the Headlines
(Don's Report to the World)

There might very well be some serial dieters out there, such as followers of weight-loss queen Oprah Winfrey, who do not acknowledge vigorous, daily, life-long exercise as the key to fitness and a healthy body weight. There might be, but I kind of doubt it. Still, knowing that exercise is key to fitness and sensible weight is one thing, acting on a regular basis to make exercise as integral a part of one’s daily routine as sleeping, bathing, grooming, eating and the like is another. The latter has not happened yet, at least not in the good old US of A — and it shows: We’re number one!

Number one, that is, in population of overweight men and women. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 61 percent of Americans are overweight and 26 percent are obese, or grossly overweight.

Yet, researchers are paid to do research, so every week, if not every day, some faculty member of a university or staff scientist at a clinic or institute that managed to score grant funds from one source will call a press conference to announce something like this: New research lends support to the idea that “obese people who exercise have half the death rate of those who are trim but don't exercise.”

Now, isn’t that amazing? Who would have thought such a thing? Those are the words of Steven Blair, lead investigator at the famed Cooper Institute for Aerobics Research in Dallas. Blair described being fit as being more important than losing weight insofar as lowering one’s risk of heart disease.

Other experts, particularly those connected with the weight loss/diet products industry, were quick to suggest, upon hearing this amazing news, that an appropriate weight is still a good idea for reducing the prospects of OTHER maladies associated with obesity, such as cancer, arthritis and infertility. Not mentioned, of course, is the obvious fact that exercise is also the best way to avoid or overcome obesity for most people, that is, those whose obesity is not caused by various glandular and other physical disorders.

One obesity researcher stated that “You don't have to lose weight. You can instead improve your fitness.'' Well, yes, but what’s wrong with doing both? It seems that some people can’t do both, for varied reasons, so the next best strategy is to focus on becoming fit, not losing pounds. That is another good idea.

What was new and different about the latest Cooper study was that 50 percent of the subjects tested were found to function at the fit level. Fit, in this case, was assessed by a standard stress protocol involving how long subjects could walk on a treadmill at increasing intensity before becoming exhausted. (The Cooper Clinic investigators tracked 25,000 middle-aged men and about 8,000 women for at least 10 years.) It seems doubtful that a similar high rate of fitness would be found among obese people at the typical amusement park or elsewhere in the general population, though it makes some of us curious about what percent of obese people might be fitter than they look. Guess we need another new study. What else might we need even more, however? According to the Cooper folks, just 30 minutes of moderate walking every day, at three or four mph, would make most obese people fit. That’s what we need even more — more people exercising. It remains hard to understand why everyone does not exercise at this minimal level. It seems easy enough, yet, I don’t think most people will take the time unless HMOs, employers, the federal and local governments and other institutions that can exert some influence provide a few positive incentives for them to try to do what is in their own best interest.

I hope it happens soon -- but don’t wait if you are not already exercising at this basic level or better. Once you are fit, you will never settle for anything less. Be well, enjoy and look on the bright side.

(Note: This essay will be filed in the archives in the PHYSICAL DOMAIN under the skill area of exercise and fitness. Additional articles related to this theme may be found there.)

(Ed. Note: Views expressed in this and other columns are those of the author and not necessarily those of the SeekWellness Editorial Board.)

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